"Akhilesh should explain why he is sitting in Congress's lap": UP Deputy CM Maurya

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 11 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday took a jibe at Akhilesh Yadav, supremo of the Samjwadi Party that is part of the Opposition bloc- INDIA, saying that the SP chief should explain why he is sitting in the 'lap of Congress' party.
This comes after Akhilesh Yadav alleged that he was prevented by the Lucknow Development Authority from garlanding the bust of Jayprakash Narayan, Keshav Prasad Maurya told ANI that the SP chief has become "restless" without power.
He further hit out at Yadav, asking for an explanation from the latter over joining hands with the Congress that imposed an emergency in the country and Lok Nayak Jayprakash Narayan had to fight against the then-ruling party and ended up landing in jail.
"...Congress wants to end democracy in this country. It imposed an emergency and tried to weaken the roots of democracy. The Congress was uprooted at that time too, and the BJP will do it now too. Akhilesh Yadav should explain why he is sitting in Congress's lap. He has no right to pay tribute to Jayaprakash Narayan if he is sitting in the lap of Congress... He is restless without power..." Maurya said.
On Wednesday, Akhilesh Yadav said that the nation will witness a "complete revolution" like the social reformer Jayprakash Narayan had brought on his birth anniversary.
"Will we have to call for a complete revolution like Jayaprakash Narayan-ji even for garlanding his bust? If that is acceptable to the BJP then so be it," Yadav said in a post on social media platform 'X'.
Questioning authorities for preventing him from garlanding Narayan's statue at JPNIC, the Samajwadi Party chief said, "On the birth anniversary of the great socialist thinker and strong advocate for social justice, Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan-ji, is the path of JPNIC being blocked by putting up these tin sheets to stop the SP from garlanding his bust?" the SP chief posted in Hindi on X.
Accusing the BJP government in the state of being involved in corruption, increasing unemployment and inflation, Yadav said, "The truth is that BJP is afraid of a repeat of Narayan-ji's movement against corruption, unemployment and inflation. Under the BJP, corruption, unemployment and inflation have been many times more than what had led to the JP movement."
Meanwhile, the Lucknow Development Authority on Wednesday cited "security reasons" for locking up the gates of the JPNIC and deploying heavy security forces near the statue.
Narayan formed the first non-Congress government in the country by uniting the entire Opposition against the Congress party during the Emergency.
He is remembered for leading a rainbow coalition of Opposition parties in the mid-1970s against then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, calling for 'Sampoorna Kranti' (total revolution). (ANI)